The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team learned who they will be facing when the Cougars make their first-ever trip to the NJCAA national tournament that begins Sunday, November 17 in Wichita, Kansas.

                WNCC captured their second Region IX tournament to earn the automatic berth to the national tournament. The 2003 regional championship team was one game from qualifying for the national tournament, falling to the College of Dupage 7-2 in the district finals.

                The Cougars found out Tuesday during the NJCAA Division I men's selection show that they earned the No. 11 seed at the national tournament.

                WNCC was placed in Pool B and will face No. 2 Tyler Junior College (17-0-2) and No. 7 Indian Hills Community College (14-2-2) on Sunday and Monday. WNCC enters with a 10-4-2 record. The winners of the four pools will advance to the semifinals.

                WNCC will open the national tournament on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. MST when they face Tyler followed by a 11:30 a.m. contest on Monday against Indian Hills. All pool play games can be watched on the NJCAA Video Network.

                Assistant coach Eseah Ingram said the team is excited to be making the first-ever trip to soccer nationals in program history.

                "We found out today with the seedings and who we will be playing with Tyler and Indian Hills," Ingram said. "I think with Tyler, you know is a team that don't need no recognition or introduction when their team has won and had a lot of success in the national tournament. They are a team that lost in the final last in the final, so they will be hungry.

                "Indian Hills was number one in the country for the majority of the year. They are a team that we played early on in the year that had a pretty good beating on us. We haven't forgot that and I don't think they have either. It will be good to get a rematch there. And it will be good to face Tyler. It will be fun and I am excited for the players to enjoy the experience."

                Ingram said they are playing totally different then the beginning of the season and this team is ready to compete at nationals.

                "Now it is tournament play and at the national tournament anything can happen," Ingram said. "They are a good team and a good program, but I think we are up to the challenge, and we will be ready to face them and really anyone at the tournament because we belong there, too. Like I said, you never what will happen at tournaments. So, if we play right at the right time with the right amount of confidence we might be able to get some good results."

                The Cougars faced Indian Hills at the beginning of the season, falling 6-0 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. As for Tyler, they last faced Tyler in 2003 and 2004, the first two years of Cougar soccer. In 2003, the year WNCC won regionals, Tyler defeated the Cougars 2-0 during a regular season game in Dallas. The next year, the Cougars lost to Tyler 2-1 in Dallas.

                The rest of the tournament is set with some intriguing matchups. On the Cougars side of the bracket for semifinals is Pool D where No. 4 Cowley College (14-1-3) will have to battle No. 5 Arizona Western (14-1-2) and Miami Dade College (13-3-2).

                The other semifinal side of the bracket has Pool A and C. Pool A has the overall number one seed Iowa Western Community College (19-0-2) paired with No. 8 Harcum College (12-0-1) and No. 12 Coastal Bend Community College (11-3-3). Pool C has No. 3 Salt Lake Community College (16-1-1) paired with No. 6 Eastern Florida (14-2-2) and Murray State (17-1-1).

                The semifinals are slated for Thursday, November 21 with the finals set for November 23. The finals will be on ESPN-plus.

                Ingram said this is a huge accomplishment for the players and the school and the team appreciates all the support they have had through the season. There will be a send-off for the men's soccer team at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Pit at the college.

                "We appreciate all the support we had all year and appreciate the support we had during the regional tournament play," he said. "Hopefully, we can go down to nationals and continue to put Western Nebraska on the map in regards to soccer. Hopefully we can go down there and get a couple victories and maybe mess around and win the whole thing, you never know. We will see how it goes. Hopefully, we do well and make the school and town proud."